


a pot leaf on the water tower

by lurKINGaroundd



Series: that 70's show au [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Bonding, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, MJ Is A Little Shit, Peter is a Little Shit, Pining, Prequel part two, Romance, That 70's Show AU no one asked, That 70's Show AU no one needed, everyone is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 15:42:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16432274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lurKINGaroundd/pseuds/lurKINGaroundd
Summary: Michelle doesn’t like people. She likes rock n’ roll, sex, books and pizza, in that order. So the reason why Peter Parker was invading her thoughts was beyond her.“He’s everything that I hate.” She once said to Betty.“But Jones, you hate everything.” The blonde replied back to her.And well, Betty had a point.That 70's Show AU that no one asked and no one needed, but I wrote it anyway.





	a pot leaf on the water tower

**Author's Note:**

> I strongly recommend you to read the first two parts of the series, here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16400438
> 
> It's still a prequel!
> 
> Warning for underage drinking and smoking, but if you ever watched That 70's Show, you already knew that. ;)

Michelle Jones isn’t supposed to have any kind of interest for someone like Peter. 

Bu there she was, thinking about him. 

Michelle doesn’t like people. She likes rock n’ roll, sex, books and pizza, in that order. 

So the reason why Peter Parker was invading her thoughts was beyond her.

“He’s everything that I hate.” She once said to Betty.

“But Jones, you hate everything.” The blonde replied back to her. 

And well, she had a point.

Once, the gang went out of town, to go take a swim in a dam. It was a fun time. Someone almost stole their clothes, but everything ended well. 

Except for Michelle’s mind. Her mind was a mess.

First, why was Peter’s body… like that? Did Gwen broke up with him even knowing that? Or she didn’t have the pleasure to go that far? 

MJ assumed Gwen didn’t know, because she also showed signs of surprise looking at Peter playing with Ned in the water.

Peter wasn’t what girls would call… foxy. But there was definitely something there.

A cute face, and a hot body, MJ could enjoy the view, right?

It also made her wonder why was he often hiding himself in nerdy sweaters, even though what he was hiding would actually look good.

It occurred to her that he wasn’t worried about impressing people with something that wasn’t his thing.

And damn, Michelle thought that was pretty cool. 

Still, it made her wonder if he wasn’t hiding something else. Like the reasons as to why sometimes he would just run off in the middle of a class.

Or why he wouldn’t have time to hang at the basement, and then he would show up with almost invisible bruises.

Why did he wince so hard that time she lightly punched him in the arm?

Why was Ned so nervous every time the gang brought up Peter’s absence?

“He just does that.” Gwen once said. “Something about an internship her aunt got him at Stark Industries. Nerdy stuff or whatever.”

Michelle heard about the internship, but that shit was weird, she concluded.

“Do you need to give someone a scare?” MJ asked him one day. “Cause I know a guy.”

Well, maybe she was supposed to hate him, but he was part of the gang, and if he was going through something, she should help.

Peter nervously laughed. “No, it’s okay, MJ, really.”

Michelle hated nicknames. Everyone, even Betty, her long time friend, called her Jones. 

She should call him out on that, but she didn’t.

It was no secret Michelle was a fan of conspiracy theories. People called it conspiracy, she called it possibilities.

Like that time on the circle, Flash was whining about the adult’s taste on music.

“My dad threw away one of my records.” Betty said.

Ned and Gwen agreed with their discontentment. Peter remained silent, he liked May’s taste in music.

Michelle raised her voice. “They want to kill rock n’ roll because they know it makes us horny, man.”

Peter laughed, everything on the circle always made him laugh.

Of course, eventually she would built a conspiracy theory involving him, she just needed something to trigger it.

And it all began with a scratch on Betty’s Vista Cruiser.

“Man, this sucks!” Betty complained. “I can’t believe my dad took away my car just because of one stupid little scratch.”

“I know, right? Who would think he would overreact?” Michelle said sarcastically. 

“I did.” Flash answered, not getting the sarcasm of MJ’s question. “Betty’s dad is a real hard-ass.”

And so they were stuck in the basement because they didn’t have a car to drive them somewhere. 

In a near future, Michelle’s boss from her part time job at the disc store, would give her a car, one that her boss was thinking of giving away anyway. But for now that was it. They needed Betty’s car.

“Hey, guys.” Peter said when he arrived. “Ned isn’t coming today. He needs to study for a make up test, and he said we would only distract him.”

“Nerd.” MJ said, just staring at the TV’s with bored eyes. Betty gave a light slap on Michelle’s shoulder on defense of her boyfriend.

“Guys, guys!” Gwen almost yelled as she entered the basement. “Check it out.” She said and exhibited a bunch of keys.

“Did you get a car?” Michelle guessed.

“Yeah. My cousin Sully loaned me his wheels.” She answered.

“Yes!” Flash celebrated.

“So where to?” Gwen asked.

They ended up going out for food. 

It was an early night when the gang was on their way home after eating. Rock music blasting on the car’s radio.

“Why does Sully have a statue of the Virgin Mary on his dashboard?” Betty asked when she noticed the little statue on the car.

“Maybe, he’s like, religious or something.” Flash said.

“Wasn’t Sully in prison for arson?” Michelle wondered.

“Yeah.” Gwen replied. “People who burn stuff believe in God, too, Jones.”

“And why does his key chain say, “I love Bingo?’ ” Michelle questioned.

“Sully must love Bingo.” Flash suggested.

“All right, I’m starting to think that maybe this isn’t Sully’s car.” Peter said, sounding a bit anxious.

“Then whose car is it?” Betty asked.

And just then, they heard a police siren coming from behind them.

Uh-oh. They froze.

Soon enough, they were all locked in a gray room at the police station.

“This is great. I’m dead.” Betty complained to Gwen. “You know, when we were in my car, and I was driving, I don’t remember one single time we all got arrested.”

“That’s true.” Michelle calmly commented. 

“Betty, will you just relax?” Gwen was nervous too. “We’re all in trouble here.”

“No, no, no.” Betty affronted. “We’re not all in trouble here.” She pointed at Gwen. “Your parents have seven kids. They won’t even notice you’re gone.” She pointed at Flash. “Your parents are currently out of town.” She pointed at Peter. “Your aunt is the sweetest woman on earth.” And then pointed at Michelle. “And no offense, Jones, but I don’t even think your mom remembers your name.”

Peter was deadly offended. “Hey-”

“That’s fair.” MJ answered with a grin at Betty’s statement. Taking no offense.

“So, that just leaves me. My dad is going to kill me.” Betty finished her rant.

They were all whining about who was going to be more in trouble, when an officer entered the room, and they turned silent.

“Okay, who’s the leader here?” The man questioned.

They all pointed to Betty. “She is.” They said simultaneously.

“You get one phone call.” The officer said as he handed a dime to Betty, and left.

“So, who should we call?” MJ asked.

“I’d call my dad, but I feel safer in jail.” Betty replied.

In the end, she decided to call Ned. Maybe he could get some help that didn’t involve parents.

Michelle noticed how anxious Peter got when Betty mentioned to call Ned. She was even waiting for him to say something or object, but he remained in silence, just nervously tapping his feet on the floor.

One hour passed, still nothing happened, and no one came to see them yet.

“You should’ve just called your parents.” Flash said to Betty.

“Well, maybe I should’ve, but we don’t have another dime to make another phone call.” 

Gwen groaned. “Can’t we do something? Jones?” She looked at Michelle as if she could have an idea.

“I can’t talk to cops, man.” MJ answered. “I go insane with rage.”

And as they grew more nervous, and Peter seemed to drown himself in his own nervous silence and feet-tapping, an officer entered the room again.

The policeman looked like as if he had seen a ghost. “Uh… Peter Parker? Someone is here-”

The officer got interrupted by the one and only Tony Stark.

Peter’s eyes widened impossibly. 

“Oh, hey, kid.”

The gang was in shock.

“M-Mr Stark. What are you doing here?”

“Getting your ass out of prison, it seems.” The older man replied with a smirk. “You know, I didn’t take you for a trouble maker, but well, we’ve all been there.” He winked and placed a friendly hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Now get your little friends, and let’s go.”

Tony left the room. 

Apparently Sully’s car was stolen from an old lady. Not that the kids knew that. Stark managed to clear their names anyway.

Outside the police station, two cars were parked, one of them being a sports car. 

“Happy here, is going to drive you kids home.” Tony pointed at one grumpy huge looking guy, the irony. “Oh, I like your glasses, Michelle.” And before MJ could come up with an answer, or to ask ‘how the hell do you know my name?’ Tony was headed to his sports car. “You come with me.” He said to Peter.

Peter looked like a little boy being scolded by his dad. And Michelle wondered if this was this kind of scenario.

The rest of the gang, still speechless for most of the time, were driven home by Happy.

That day, they went home without knowing Peter Parker was desperate because ‘I can’t go to jail! I’m Spider-Man! Oh my God, what if the police finds out? What is Mr. Stark going to say? And aunt May?’ 

They also didn’t know Peter got mad at Ned for calling Tony Stark of all people, but after he calmed down, he actually thanked his best friend for doing so.

Peter avoided the gang for a whole week, blurting out mediocre replies about an internship whenever anyone asked any questions about his relationship with Tony.

Michelle Jones, who had a keen for conspiracy theories, was now 24/7 suspicious of Peter.

A part of her brain wanted to use that curiosity as an excuse for her want to see him constantly, but not even she believed in that crap she made up herself.

In any case, her suspicion was aroused once more during an accident.

The gang was out of town, this time, vandalizing a water tank.

Peter was there too, of course, but even though he smiled at his friends, and laughed, he didn’t take part in the shenanigans directly.

After climbing up the stairs, they were all up on the water tower, painting it.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” Betty began her little speech. “We have finally done it. A pot leaf on the water tower!”

They cheered as they admired the work of the green paint on the tank.

“This is the proudest moment of my life.” Flash declared. 

They had pretty questionable proud moments.

Michelle was skeptical. “It doesn’t look like a pot leaf. It looks like a hand giving the finger.”

“It doesn’t have to look perfect, Jones.” Gwen argued. “It’s art.”

“Get up and make it better.” MJ requested.

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

Tragically, when Gwen moved to get to the spot Michelle was telling her to change, Gwen lost her balance.

Next thing she knew, Michelle was watching as Peter held himself and Gwen with one hand grasped at tower’s metal fence.

The other hand, he used to firmly hold Gwen’s arm, preventing the girl from falling to the ground.

In a few seconds, he managed to get her back on the tower.

The gang cheered.

“That was awesome!” Ned exclaimed.

Peter took the compliments shyly. Gwen hugged him as a thanks, and he felt awkward.

“Yeah.” Michelle said. “That was pretty heroic.” She used an emphasis on the last word.

“Uh, thanks.” He replied, blushing a little.

After that scare, they decided that the pot leaf was good enough, and went home.

If her friends didn’t think nothing of what happened, maybe, they were smoking too much, and it was really damaging their brains, Michelle concluded.

MJ was relieved that Gwen didn’t want to get back with Peter after the little accident. 

It would be too much for Michelle to watch the blonde want the little loser back just because she was amazed with him after he saved her.

She didn’t want to know why it would be too much, she didn’t want to admit it.

But what she did want was to go to a party.

To drink, not to dance.

Well, actually, Michelle Jones doesn’t dance, it was an understatement.

Like that time, the gang wanted to go the disco. She hated it. There was a lot of dancing, and they wouldn’t sell alcohol to minors.

“Disco is from hell, okay?” Michelle had tried to convince them no to go. “And not the cool part of hell with all the murderers… but the lame-ass part where the really bad accountants live.”

“What do you have against disco?” Betty asked. “It’s the only thing white people can dance to.”

Michelle laughed at that. It was a good one.

Still, she even complained about it to Betty’s father, when the gang was trying to gather some money to go.

“I can’t believe they’re gonna waste all their money on a stupid disco, when they could buy a really big bag of… caramels.” 

Well, that was a close one.

And even though phony people listening to crappy music wasn’t her kind of scene. Michelle decided to go anyway.

Secretly, she asked Betty’s mother to teach her how to dance. 

Just in case… someone, a certain cute sweater wearing boy wanted to dance.

“Okay, I thought about it, and I’m going to the disco. Just on the off chance they might mix up a little rock and roll.” Michelle declared on the circle.

“I’d like some toast.” Flash requested. “Or food of any kind. I’m starving.”

“Oh, I read somewhere there are these people outside the US who fast, man.” MJ enthusiastically said. “Yeah. And their minds are so advanced, they can actually think themselves to death.”

“Whoa. I hope I’m not doing that right now.” Gwen was groggy. “My mind’s always doing things that I don’t even know about.”

“Guys, we always think of so many brilliant things down here… but then later, I can’t remember any of them.” Betty said, agitated. “I mean, they’re brilliant!”

Ned had an idea. “Hey, we should record our conversation, man!”

MJ agreed. “Yeah! Then we could play it back and write it down.”

Peter was having the time of his life, laughing at them.

“You know, I read somewhere that there are these people in France.” Gwen said.

“What do they do?” Michelle asked.

“They are incredibly… french!” 

“See, that’s brilliant! I’m getting a tape recorder.” Betty cheered.

They went to the disco the other night.

And Michelle definitely wasn’t anxious about a chance of dancing with Peter.

So she definitely wasn’t disappointed when he ditched them in the beginning of the night.

MJ also wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t show up at the basement for the next two days.

The gang heard the recording of their conversation on the circle.

“I’m saying the world is a farm.” Michelle’s voice came from the tape.

“That’s brilliant.” Betty’s voice said.

“A farm.” Gwen’s voice added.

Peter’s voice was heard in the background, laughing non-stop.

Michelle continued on the recording. “A farm put here by aliens, man. And we’re the cattle.”

Ned’s voice agreed. “We’re cattle.”

“And the government knows it. It’s out there, man.” Michelle kept going.

“What is?” Flash seemed to ask.

“The truth.” Michelle’s voice affirmed.

“What are you saying?” Flash was heard asking again.

“Out there is the truth.” Michelle reaffirmed on the tape. “The truth is out there, man!”

“That’s seriously brilliant.” Ned’s voice declared.

And the tape finished with Peter’s loud laugh.

“See, we’re all stupid.” Flash said when the tape was over. 

Michelle grinned at that, but the sound of Peter’s laugh was still haunting her mind.

A few days without seeing him, and she gets all mushy. What a nightmare, she thought.

Another weekend had arrived, and with that, news of a real party. 

Not disco crap. Drinks and rock music. What Michelle needed.

A party in a nasty apartment, with not adult supervising, and a bunch of drunk teenagers, what could go wrong?

The gang got the invitation from one of Gwen’s acquaintance.

“Really? Are you guys going to that party? Even though the last time we got involved with something coming from people Gwen knew, we ended up in prison.” Peter commented, not a fan of the idea.

Michelle smirked at him. “Burn!” She shouted.

“No, no.” He turned a bit red. “That’s not what I meant, I just-”

“Would you relax, nerd. If you don’t wanna come, then don’t.” Michelle said to him. 

Peter ended up going anyway. That annoyed MJ, because it clearly wasn’t his scene, and it remembered her of when she went to the disco. 

They really shouldn’t be out there doing shit they didn’t like because of other people.

And she didn’t get why he decided to go.

Was it because of her? She wondered, but doubted it very much.

Flash and Gwen were getting shit-faced drunk, and Ned was probably making out with Betty somewhere, so Peter was alone.

And after he managed to avoid the third drunk girl hitting on him, Michelle decided to rescue him, and call him to play pool with her.

Bottle of beer in hands, she pulled the boy by his arm.

“Do you know how to play?” She asked him, now by the pool table.

“Uh, I never tried.”

So MJ taught him. And if she used this opportunity to touch him, it was only because she was already tipsy.

“C’mon, give it a go.” She said, after teaching him the basics.

And he tried. Peter managed to break the white ball of the pool table.

“What the hell?” Michelle wondered if she was already seeing things. “You broke it! You idiot!”

“I-It’s not my fault! The b-ball was already cracked.” He stuttered trying to explain himself.

MJ rolled her eyes, and took a sip from her beer, only to find it was empty. She groaned. “Go get me a beer.” She requested, and because he just ruined their game, he went without arguing.

Peter was taking too long, so she went after him. And she found him, again being cornered by a girl.

Michelle scoffed. He was like a little lamb, and she went to his rescue once again.

MJ walked to him, and placed her arm around his neck and shoulder, and played with his ear. Peter’s face turned red in a second, and that was really fun, she concluded. “This loser is mine. Go get another one.” Michelle said to the girl, aloof, as always. 

She went away. Peter sighed in relief. Michelle laughed. 

“You’re such a baby.” MJ teased him.

A bit offended, he abruptly got her arm off his shoulder, and handed her the beer. “Here, your beer.” 

“You look even more like a baby now that you’re mad.” She said. 

They went back to the pool table.

They were playing a very wrong game that made no sense, but since they didn’t have the white ball, there wasn’t much else they could do.

At least, this time Peter didn’t break any more balls from the table.

And Michelle definitely wasn’t incredibly happy that she was making him have fun in a place where he usually wouldn’t.

She wasn’t even drinking as much as she planned to, she wanted to be sober to watch him, and to remember it later.

MJ was so focused on Peter that she didn’t notice the presence of a guy she punched during a bar fight one day, in the party.

And when she separated from Peter to go the bathroom, things started going downhill.

“Fire! Fire!” She heard coming from outside the bathroom.

She went out, and everyone was running around.

Fuck, a fire.

And what was not lacking in this place was alcohol. The fire was growing fast, and spreading. The fuck ton of teenagers were in total despair running around.

She was on her way out, hoping the gang was going to be safe. And shit, it was difficult to run when everyone was so desperate, scared and drunk. 

Michelle was almost on her way out, after helping out a girl who got stepped on by others, when she saw him.

Peter. He was running, but not in the direction of the exit door. She saw him entering one of the bedrooms.

Without thinking much, MJ went after him.

She was by the door of the bedroom. “Parker! Hey! Peter!” He wasn’t there. There was no one in the room, just a growing pit of fire.

How was that possible? She didn’t see him get out. 

And when she was about to look for him in another place, she felt hands pushing her back hard inside the bedroom. Surprised, Michelle fell on her knees with the impact of the push. She turned around and the door was closed. 

No, no.

She got up, and tried to open the door. It was locked from the outside.

No, no, no.

Michelle banged her hands against the door. “Hey! Open it! Fuck! Open this door! Hey! There’s someone here!”

She tried to break the door, creating a momentum and running to throw all her body weight on the door. MJ did it again and again, and it was useless, only causing her pain.

“Shit, shit, shit! Help! There’s someone here!” 

She wasn’t going to cry. No, she refused.

“Help. Help.” Michelle’s voice was getting smaller and the fire bigger.

Maybe she could jump from the window. It would be possible if she wasn’t in the seventh floor.

Now, holding a fabric on her face for protection, she was banging her fist against the door again, and she finally heard someone.

“Miss, miss! Stay back!” 

Was it cops? Firemen? 

With the sound of the fire she couldn’t really know.

She followed the voice’s instruction. 

And what she didn’t expect was the vision of Spider-Man breaking the door with a kick. 

Michelle was surprised, but well, that was quite the understatement. With the despair of the moment, she moved to run out of the room.

Spider-Man held her by the arm. “No.” 

She looked at him, confused.

“The fire is everywhere outside. Let’s go by the window.” The super-hero said. 

His voice was kind of familiar, or maybe she was going crazy.

She would question his decision, but well, he was Spider-Man. It made sense to use the window.

He wrapped one arm around her waist, and then she was clinging on him like a monkey.

Soon, Michelle was flying. Or, swinging? Well, it was terrifying, and maybe she yelled a couple of times.

Not her proudest moment in life, that’s for sure. 

He dropped her by a hospital nearby.

She was coughing as she tried to say. “Hey, uh, thanks.”

He just awkwardly gave her a thumbs up and went away swinging.

Michelle had heard rumors that the arachnid was pretty talkative, so his evasiveness was unexpected to her.

“Oh my god. Jones!” 

She heard Betty’s voice. The gang was there. They came running in her direction. 

They all hugged her. “We were so worried!” Gwen said. “Where’s Peter?”

Shit, there was no Peter.

The whole reason she got stuck in that bedroom in the first place was because she was after Peter. 

“I… don’t know.” Michelle answered.

Everyone seemed so tense, and then a sweet, kind of high-pitched voice was heard.

It felt like a cup of cold water in the middle of a desert. 

It was Peter’s voice.

“Guys!” He called.

Everyone fell into a group hug again.

They were safe. The gang was complete. They were all here.

And Michelle realized something.

Peter just saved her life.

After some time, they ended up running from the hospital. Cops were looking for the teenagers present in the party. And well, they were doing some pretty illegal things in there, so.

They were running and laughing.

Because shit, they’re alive.

After this, the gang was laying low for awhile. No parties, just the basement.

And Michelle had the time to come up with a plan to confront Peter.

One afternoon, she was alone with him at the basement, watching TV. 

The time is now, she thought.

“You know what?” MJ said, getting up from her chair. “I’m gonna remake the pot leaf on the water tank.” 

“What? Alone?” He asked.

She exhibited her car keys to him. “I got my car now. I don’t need Betty’s.” 

Her lovely 67 El Camino that she got from her boss.

“Isn’t it dangerous?” 

Ha. Peter was biting her bait. 

Because she understood the whole reason why Peter was at the party that other day. 

He was worried.

“I’m not gonna fall. I’m not Gwen. And even if I fall, what do you care?”

He rolled his eyes at her. “Well, I don’t care.”

“I’m out.” Michelle said and headed out.

She got on her car, and turned on the engine.

Out of nowhere, Peter opened her car’s door, and got inside, on the passenger’s seat.

MJ threw him a questioning look.

“I’m bored.” He explained himself. “There’s nothing good on TV.”

She got him.

Up on the water tower, she was using the green paint, to fake her non-genuine reasons of being there.

Peter was just sitting on the edge, watching the sunset. 

What MJ was about to do was dangerous, but she couldn’t pass the chance to finally prove one of her conspiracy theories.

“Hey, Parker. Can I trust you?” She suddenly asked.

“Uh, I- I think so, yes.” He answered, clearly confused to what she was talking about.

Michelle dropped her paint brush. She climbed up the fence. “Then I’m going to jump, and you’re going to catch me.”

Peter got up immediately, and before he could reach her, she jumped.

And before Michelle could go splat on the ground, something left her hanging in the air. 

A white fluid glued to her arm, that fluid coming from Peter’s wrists.

From the web-shooters he was hiding under his sweater’s sleeves.

She knew it.

She was right.

Peter dragged Michelle back on the tower. 

“What the hell, Michelle?”

There he goes again, now, calling her by her first name.

And she didn’t call him out on it.

“If you’re angry about it, why don’t you fight me?”

“What? Have you gone crazy? Are you high-”

And she didn’t let him finish his outburst, and landed and punch to his face, that of course, he dodged. 

“What are you doing? I don’t wanna fight you!”

Michelle kept throwing him punches, and he finally got tired of it, and held her hands above her head as he cornered her against the metal wall of the water tank. “Will you stop it?”

MJ stopped moving, sighed and then locked eyes with him. She smirked. “The reason you don’t wanna fight back, is because you could hurt me, right?”

He looked at her, bewildered.

“Isn’t that right, Spider-Man?” Michelle gave him the ultimatum.

Silence.

And then.

“Oh, crap.” He said.

Peter released her hands, and placed his own hands over his face, obviously not happy.

“So, I have a question.” She said.

“What?” He grumpily stared at her.

“Does the government knows about you?”

Peter groaned.

**Author's Note:**

> (English is not my native language, so I apologize for any mistakes.)
> 
> I have an idea for a sequel of the first part of this series. So, please, tell me if you're still interested in reading this! If that's the case, I'll keep writing.
> 
> For now, I guess prequels are over. 
> 
> I need to know what you think, so let me know! Leave me a review, a comment. It means the whole world to me!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading.


End file.
